Harbaugh says quarterback Alex Smith unlikely to be released

On Friday, Jim Harbaugh said it’s “unlikely” quarterback Alex Smith will be released.

Did you hear that, Chiefs? Are you listening, Browns? How about you, Cardinals, Jets and Jaguars?

As expected, Harbaugh presented two scenarios for how the 49ers would proceed with Smith in the offseason, and neither involved parting ways without netting something in return.

“We think we’ve got the best quarterback situation in the National Football League,” Harbaugh said at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. “I feel strongly about that. Again, that will be a process that plays out. Alex Smith continuing to be a 49er, or if a trade occurs in the next weeks and months. Those are the two possibilities, most likely possibilities.”

Are the 49ers really prepared to keep good-soldier Smith in clipboard-holding mode and pay him $8.5 million to do so in 2013?

That seems unlikely. But why announce that to quarterback-starved teams holding out hope that Smith will be released and could be acquired without the loss of a draft pick or picks?

Two days after the Super Bowl, Harbaugh took a similar – if slightly less definitive – stance when asked if the 49ers would grant Smith his release.

“I don’t think any player has those wishes granted that are under contract,” he said. “And everything is different. Every scenario is unique, and certainly something that we’re not going to delve into and get into specifics at this point.”

Manningham update: Harbaugh said he didn’t think wide receiver Mario Manningham would be ready to participate in the start of training camp, according to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and the Sacramento Bee.

Manningham sustained torn anterior and posterior cruciate knee ligaments on Dec. 23. At the Super Bowl, where he was still on crutches, he said he underwent surgery in mid-January.

Another 49ers wide receiver, Kyle Williams, has said he’ll be ready for training camp after sustaining a torn ACL on Nov. 25.

Talking about practice: Harbaugh took a 50-mile trek to Bloomington, Ind., this week to see his brother-in-law, Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean, and watch the Hoosiers practice.

Indiana is 24-3 and ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25.

“It made me want to be a better coach – it made me want to have better practices,” Harbaugh said. “One of the finest practices I’ve seen a football or basketball team go through. … It was a 2 1/2-hour practice and there was no grab-assing going on.

“The attention was there. Coaches coaching players and players coaching each other – holding each other accountable. It was real good. I got some good notes and want to make some of our practices better.”

On Friday, Crean, via Twitter, sounded fired up about Harbaugh’s visit: “Jim Harbaugh was here for practice yesterday. Every1 loved it. He had his #iubenchmob tshirt on uner the 49er sweatshirt. He is invested.”